Apothecary's Touch
by Itachiforever342
Summary: A mysterious girl with the powers to heal any sickness arrives in Tokyo. Will Megumi be out of a job or is she after something else?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Watsuki-sensei, and no one else!

Okay, I found a short story to put up, but it's not a one-shot!

Enjoy!

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**Apothecary's Touch**

A young woman walked down the main road to Tokyo, her short kimono, deep blue with a white yukata peeking out from under the collar, was tied closed with cherry blossom pink obi around her middle. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail with a pure white ribbon in a knot, the tresses a sleek raven color. Her geta clopped against the hard ground, as she carried a heavy wood box with many drawers on her back. Her eyes, which were a mystical sea-green, were bright as she called out her sales pitch.

"Medicine! Cures for anything from colds to rashes! Pain-relievers, salves, antidotes, whatever you need!"

An old woman came up to the young woman. "Please, my poor back has been aching for days…can you help me, young lady?"

"Of course, granny. Just show me where it hurts and I'll mix up something that will make the pain go away," the medicine woman assured, putting her box down and placing her hands on the elderly woman's back.

"Just there."

"I see. All right, I'll have it done in just a moment."

The delicate pale hands worked quickly and their owner hummed a tune that was very soft and soothing, like a brook running through a quiet forest. The old woman smiled as she listened.

"That's very nice, my dear. It makes me feel relaxed and calms me down."

"Thank you for the praise, granny." The packet was folded neatly and handed over. "Here. Take this with some water and you'll feel better."

"What can I pay you for this, young lady?"

"Nothing but a smile and a promise that you'll get better, granny."

"Not even a cup of rice?"

"I couldn't take anything from you."

The wrinkled face broke into a smile. "I promise I'll get better, dear. Thank you."

With that said, the young woman picked up her load and started walking again.

"How very kind of her, giving me medicine for the cost of thanks. I just hope no one takes advantage of her kindness or she might never get a meal for her hard work."

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When the young woman reached Tokyo, she called out again, only to have everyone ignore her. She blinked and then asked herself, "Is there a good doctor around here that no one needs the help of an apothecary?"

"Help! Get a doctor!"

She turned to see a woman kneeling next to a man on the ground. Running over, she asked, "Can I help, ma'am?"

"My husband just collapsed after complaining about numbness in his left arm! Please, help him, miss!" the older woman cried.

"He must be having a heart attack… Leave it to me."

Within seconds, she poured a cup of water and mixed it with a powder, blowing on it. She then pinched his nose and poured it down his throat. She then gave the man's chest a firm pat. Almost instantly, the man opened his eyes and sat up. He flexed his arm and exclaimed, "The pain is gone!" He saw the younger woman and bowed his head. "Thank you for healing me!"

His wife cried and bowed low. "Thank you, thank you! You have no idea what your swiftness has done for him! He might've died had you not been here!"

"You're welcome, ma'am. I'm glad I could help."

People around them started murmuring about the apothecary woman being a miracle worker. A boy with spiky black hair narrowed his dark eyes and ran off. He headed for the Kamiya dojo and burst in.

"Hey Kenshin!"

A man with a mess of red hair and blue eyes looked up from doing the laundry. "What is it, Yahiko?"

"I just saw a medicine woman cure a man on the street instantly! This could be bad for Dr. Genzai and Megumi if people start referring to this lady!" Yahiko said, looking concerned.

"A medicine woman? She could be merely wandering through Tokyo, like most apothecaries do. They never settle unless there is a particularly bad bout of sickness in the area they happen upon. There should be nothing to worry about, Yahiko."

"But she gave him the medicine and he was better right away! She could be a fake! No medicine cures something right away!"

Kenshin cradled his chin. "We might have to warn Miss Megumi about this, then. We'll help her if this new competition turns out to be a fake."

They headed over to the clinic and told Megumi.

"What? A young woman curing someone on the street?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah, and it wasn't the way you do it, Megumi! She just mixed some medicine and gave it to the guy and he was instantly better! You said no medicine works that fast! People were saying that she's a miracle worker!"

"Hmmm, we'll just have to see how many people stop coming to the clinic for the next few days, then it will be serious," Megumi stated, waving them away. "Unless you're here to help, you're underfoot. It was nice of you to warn me."

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This style is more like the anime instead of the manga. I hope someone reviews this one, I'd be really sad if I was ignored again...

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin and never will!

So, after a week, here's the next chapter! Will we find out who the mysterious apothecary is?

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The mysterious apothecary's reputation spread throughout the city within a couple days, and people were seeking her out to cure almost anything, which she did. By the third day the clinic was almost empty of its normal people, and Megumi was concerned.

"Dr. Genzai, since today is slow, can I take the rest of the day off?"

The old man nodded. "Of course, Megumi. I'll send someone for you should I need you."

The lady doctor went to the dojo, where Kaoru was relaxing because she was six months pregnant. Megumi had counted the days to Kaoru's conception, and she knew it wasn't Kenshin's child, but she hadn't said anything, because that was something that Kaoru would have to tell her husband.

When she arrived, there was a crash, followed by a cry.

"Kenshin!"

"Kenshin!"

Megumi rushed in, only to see a large crate over Kenshin's back as he laid face down on the ground. Kaoru was in tears while Yahiko was trying to lift the huge box off the redhead. When the boy saw the doctor he ran over to her. "Megumi! Kenshin's hurt! What should we do?!"

The lady doctor assessed the situation and said, "Unless we have someone who can lift this and quick, Sir Ken might die from the crushing weight."

"If only we had Sanosuke here right now! He would be able to help!" Yahiko growled, then ran towards the gates to see if he could find anyone to help.

He saw the apothecary woman and called, "Hey! Hey you! Someone in here is in trouble!"

The young woman turned and nodded, following him to where even Megumi was starting to panic. But then she did something that made everyone gape in awe. Using her own two hands, she squatted down and lifted the crate so it turned over, off of Kenshin. When that was done, she took her box and opened it, after feeling along his body.

"Broken spine…internal damage from severe outer pressure…" she murmured as she picked a specific packet of medicine and mixed it with water. Gently rolling him over, she placed a hand on his head and helped him drink.

In a second all color came back to Kenshin's face and his eyes opened. She helped him up and murmured, "You're going to be all right now."

Megumi, Yahiko and Kaoru looked absolutely aghast. Kenshin saw the blood around him and asked, "Miss, what happened?"

"It seems that you were being crushed by that large crate, sir. The young man called to me as I was passing this dojo, and I lifted the crate off you and used my medicines to make you better. How do you feel?"

Kenshin saw that his clothes were bloody as well. "Miss Megumi, is what this young woman say true? I seemed to black out as I fell off the crate. It looks like I was bleeding very badly."

Kaoru came out of shock first and cried, hugging her husband, "I was so worried, Kenshin! I thought you were dead for sure!"

Megumi rounded on the medicine woman. "How did you cure him like that?! It's impossible that he should be moving at all right now! That hit should've broken his back and killed him, if not paralyzing him from that point where it hit him for life! As a doctor I know this!"

Confusion came over the younger woman's features, and, to the great surprise of everyone else there, her hair turned bright turquoise. "What do you mean? There isn't anything that my medicines can't heal. I'm an apothecary, after all. I heal people from sickness and infirmities."

Yahiko stammered, "Wha-what i-is sh-she?"

Kenshin blinked and asked, "Miss, are you perhaps, magical?"

The strange young woman's hair changed again as she considered his question, this time a soothing green. She pointed a finger in the air and responded, her hair changing back to black, "I don't know what you're talking about, sir."

"No way it was a trick of the light," Kaoru affirmed. "Her hair just changed color twice."

Megumi's eyes narrowed. "I demand to know what you are and how you make your medicines the way you do. Because of you, there is hardly anyone who comes to the clinic! They try and find you because you seem to have a cure-all! There has to be a trick to it!"

"But Megumi!" Yahiko protested. "We saw her cure Kenshin! There's no way that she could be a fake!"

The young woman picked up her pack and slid her arms through the straps. "I'm sorry to have caused you grief, so I must be leaving the city."

"Wait!" Kaoru called. "Why don't you stay here for a while? It looks like you only have the clothes on your back and your medicine box. How can you look so healthy when you're a poor medicine woman?"

"I sometimes use my medicines for my own benefit. Though that isn't very often."

Kenshin bowed to the young woman and stated, "You saved my life, miss. It would be my honor to see to your needs before my own."

The girl's cheeks turned pink as she placed her hands up to her face in shyness, her hair changing to a light yellow-orange. "Thank you, sir. My name is Saya."

Kenshin smiled and held a hand out to her, which she took. "Welcome to the Kamiya dojo, Miss Saya."

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So now we know her name...I do believe the word for her name means "sword sheath" in Japanese.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Kenshin is no mine!

Yay! The next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

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Kaoru sighed as she rested on her futon, feeling the kicks of her baby. Kenshin had been true to his promise and he was waiting on Saya hand and foot. Not that the young woman needed it, she ate only once a day, bathed only once a week, and seemed to not need any special treatment. Whenever she was near Kenshin, though, her hair turned the same light yellow-orange.

Yahiko looked on as Kenshin passed by Saya, the girl's face and hair changing colors. He sat next to Kaoru's room and said, "Saya sure gets flustered whenever Kenshin's around. I think she has a crush on him."

Kaoru sat up and growled. "Doesn't she know he's married to me?"

"I don't think so, Kaoru. No one's said anything about that and she's been here a month. Maybe she knows something that we don't."

Just then, Kenshin knelt down in front of Saya and asked, "Miss Saya, your feet look a little dirty. Can I wash them for you?"

Saya's hair went from light yellow-orange to a blinding orange, her face turning bright red. "I…um…all right, Kenshin."

He got a bucket of water and a cloth and started wiping the dirt off her feet. "Your feet are very small and delicate, Miss Saya. Just like the rest of you."

"Thank you, Kenshin. It makes me feel light and fluttery inside."

Kenshin just smiled and kept rubbing her feet, even after her feet were clean. "Miss Saya, you do deserve some special treatment, since I swore to see to your needs, but unless you voice them, I cannot do anything."

There was a loud knock at the gate, then Sanosuke and Megumi came in, the rooster-haired man carrying tons of sake jugs. "Hey Kenshin! It's time to party!"

Kenshin looked surprised, but nodded, Yahiko cheering. Saya just blinked, her hair turning bright turquoise.

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Sano handed a jug of sake to everyone, almost everyone getting drunk when they finished what was in front of them. Saya looked completely sober, even when Kenshin and Sano were slobbering drunk. When she felt her body tingling, she stopped drinking, then looked up to see everyone collapsed on the floor, Kenshin leaning against a wall. She crawled over to the red-haired swordsman and looked into his face, to see he was barely awake.

"Kenshin…do you allow me to be your mate?"

He put his arms around her and pulled her to him. "You know I could never refuse you…"

They tumbled so she was under him and their lips met. They made love as if they were meant for each other, but as Kenshin was passing out, he whispered, "I love you…Kaoru…"

Saya's eyes widened and her hair turned golden yellow as she thought of what Kaoru would do to her if this was found out. She fixed their clothing with such precision that she knew that no one would find out that anything happened while everyone was dead drunk. She moved Kenshin so he was in his original position against the wall and she curled up in a corner, falling asleep with dreams of guilt and fear plaguing her.

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If you're confused about the colors her hair changes, I'll be glad to tell you in a review!

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin!

This is re-posted because I've decided to end it. I lost the file somewhere, so here you go, my original ending!

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The next morning she saw everyone was experiencing major hangovers, so she mixed several remedies to cure them. Kaoru came out of her room to see the room spotless, Saya cleaning the last corner with a wet cloth, looking rather tired.

"Have you been cleaning up since everyone left? You look exhausted, Saya," the older woman commented. "Maybe you should go rest."

Saya shook her head. "Not until I finish. Kenshin is out washing clothes and Yahiko is training outside, so I should stay here and clean up."

Kaoru laughed. "You sound like a kid that's being punished, Saya. Did something happen?"

"No."

It was then that Kaoru got suspicious. "Do you think something happened last night, when everyone was drunk?"

Saya didn't even shake her head, she just finished cleaning and walked outside, handing the dirty cloth to Kenshin to clean, before she gathered up her belongings and started to walk towards the gate. She lowered her head and whispered, "Sorry," before exiting and not looking back.

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If you think it's a cliffhanger, sorry, that's how I intended it to be!

Thanks for those who reviewed, I appreciated it!

For the last time...

Please review!


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